Southampton ramped up the pressure on their automatic promotion rivals after brushing aside Preston North End at St Mary’s Stadium this evening.
Russell Martin‘s side have moved within three points of third-placed Leeds United with a game in hand on the West Yorkshire outfit.
Further, they are now just four points off Leicester City, who occupy the final automatic promotion spot.
The South Coasters still have The Foxes and league leaders Ipswich Town to play in their remaining four games, so a top-two finish is certainly attainable.
Against North End, Southampton were relentless and made a real statement, with one ace particularly impressive.
Ryan Manning’s incredible stats v Preston North End
Ryan Manning has come in for criticism at times this season but against Preston, he showed his class and why so many were after his signature last summer.
The 27-year-old was a real outlet down the left and on another day he could’ve had an assist, or two, given the number of chances he was able to create. Here are his incredible statistics, as per Sofascore.
- 132 touches
- 91% accurate passes
- 3 key passes
- 3 tackles
- 6/11 duels won
Manning had the most touches on the pitch and was involved in absolutely everything in a dominant display that will give Martin a real selection dilemma.
He has made a real claim to start in the final few games of the campaign.
Southampton are a better team with Ryan Manning in it
Manning, admittedly, needs to work on the defensive side of the game, but going forward, there are few better than him in the Championship.
Saints just looked a better side with him in it this evening, as they had more balance down the left, with the Republic of Ireland international always a willing runner.
Even when he didn’t receive the ball, just his runs stretched Preston and allowed others, like Stuart Armstrong, more space to thrive.
If he can just polish areas of his positional play, one-on-one defending and general concentration, there’s no reason why he can’t become a fixture of Martin’s side.
Saints are next in action this weekend, as they make the trip to Cardiff in what is now a must-win game if they are to surmount the gap on the top two.